She didn’t really want too much in life, just the normal tings a 10-year-old girl wants – play in the street, have friends, eat, go to school, enjoy life with her family. The only problem with hr grand plan is that she is Syrian.

Her name is not important, at least it doesn’t seem important for many governments in Europe and many more people who live a comfortable life in the old continent. She is not a person, she is a number. She has no name.

I came across her story in a documentary on TV. Her dad was arrested and imprisoned – never to be seen again. She lived with her younger brother and sister in Aleppo, one of the cities most punished in the Syrian civil war.

Her mother kept on going until she finally had no choice but to leave – the constant bombing, insecurity, lack of basic necessities, and fear of repercussion took their toll. They sold everything and eventually managed to make it – legally – to Germany, where they were offered help in the form of an allowance and house.

What struck me about the whole story was that the family were just like any family I know. The mother spoke about rituals she had with her husband – they drank coffee every morning without fail. She smoked, too. The kids liked games, the eldest daughter loved dressing up and putting on make-up (yes, they’re Muslim – it has nothing to do with it). The boy liked football and the youngest enjoyed going to the playground and playing on the swings. They are a normal family.

And then I realized how misinformed the EU agreement with Turkey is, how closing boarders is downright cruel and people’s intolerance towards accepting migrants looking for a better life is selfish, racist, xenophobic, and close-minded.

And yes, comparisons to Nazism are warranted because even though there is no maniacal dictator, the manner in which Syrians, Afghans and others are being treated is similar to the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s.

Like those time, we speak in numbers. Names seem not to be important.